Inorganic Materials

With physical properties that often may not be described by the transposition of physical laws from 3D space across to 2D or even 1D space, low-dimensional solids exhibit a high degree of anisotropy in the spatial distribution of their chemical bonds. This means that they can demonstrate new phenomena such as charge-density waves and can display nanoparticulate (0D), fibrous (1D) and lamellar (2D) morphologies. This text presents some of the most recent research into the synthesis and properties of these solids and covers: • Metal Oxide Nanoparticles • Inorganic Nanotubes and Nanowires • Biomedical Applications of Layered Double Hydroxides • Carbon Nanotubes and Related Structures • Superconducting Borides Introducing topics such as novel layered superconductors, inorganic-DNA delivery systems and the chemistry and physics of inorganic nanotubes and nanosheets, this book discusses some of the most exciting concepts in this developing field.

Functional oxides have a wide variety of applications in the electronic industry. The discovery of new metal oxides with interesting and useful properties continues to drive much research in chemistry, physics, and materials science. In Functional Oxides five topical areas have been selected to illustrate the importance of metal oxides in modern materials chemistry: • Noncentrosymmetric Inorganic Oxide Materials • Geometrically Frustrated Magnetic Materials • Lithium Ion Conduction in Oxides • Thermoelectric Oxides • Transition Metal Oxides - Magnetoresistance and Half-Metallicity The contents highlight structural chemistry, magnetic and electronic properties, ionic conduction and other emerging areas of importance, such as thermoelectricity and spintronics. Functional Oxides covers these complex concepts in a clear and accessible manner providing an excellent introduction to this broad subject area.

In the past few decades, the increasingly routine use of advanced structural probes for studying the structure and dynamics of the solid state has led to some dramatic developments in the field of porous solids. These materials are fundamental in a diverse range of applications, such as shape-selective catalysts for energy-efficient organic transformations, new media for pollutant removal, and gas storage materials for energy technologies. Porosity in inorganic materials may range from the nano-scale to the macro-scale, and the drive towards particular properties remains the goal in this fast-developing area of research. Covering some of the key families of inorganic solids that are currently being studied, Porous Materials discusses: • Metal Organic Frameworks Materials • Mesoporous Silicates • Ordered Porous Crystalline Transition Metal Oxides • Recent Developments in Templated Porous Carbon Materials • Synthetic Silicate Zeolites: Diverse Materials Accessible Through Geoinspiration

With applications in optoelectronics and photonics, quantum information processing, nanotechnology and data storage, molecular materials enrich our daily lives in countless ways. These materials have properties that depend on their exact structure, the degree of order in the way the molecules are aligned and their crystalline nature. Small, delicate changes in molecular structure can totally alter the properties of the material in bulk. There has been increasing emphasis on functional metal complexes that demonstrate a wide range of physical phenomena. “Molecular Materials” represents the diversity of the area, encapsulating magnetic, optical and electrical properties, with chapters on: • Metal-Based Quadratic Nonlinear Optical Materials • Physical Properties of Metallomesogens • Molecular Magnetic Materials • Molecular Inorganic Conductors and Superconductors • Molecular Nanomagnets Structured to include a clear introduction, a discussion of the basic concepts and up-to-date coverage of key aspects, each chapter provides a detailed review which conveys the excitement of work in that field.

Inorganic materials are at the heart of many contemporary real-world applications, in electronic devices, drug delivery, bio-inspired materials and energy storage and transport. In order to underpin novel synthesis strategies both to facilitate these applications and to encourage new ones, a thorough review of current and emerging techniques for materials characterisation is needed. Examining important techniques that allow investigation of the structures of inorganic materials on the local atomic scale, “Local Structural Characterisation” discusses: • Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy • X-Ray Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy • Neutrons and Neutron Spectroscopy • EPR Spectroscopy of Inorganic Materials • Analysis of Functional Materials by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy This addition to the “Inorganic Materials” Series provides a detailed and thorough review of these spectroscopic techniques and emphasises the interplay between chemical synthesis and physical characterisation.

Inorganic materials show a diverse range of important properties that are desirable for many contemporary, real-world applications. Good examples include recyclable battery cathode materials for energy storage and transport, porous solids for capture and storage of gases and molecular complexes for use in electronic devices. An understanding of the function of these materials is necessary in order to optimise their behaviour for real applications, hence the importance of 'structure—property relationships'. The chapters presented in this volume deal with recent advances in the characterisation of crystalline materials. They include some familiar diffraction methods, thoroughly updated with modern advances. Also included are techniques that can now probe details of the three-dimensional arrangements of atoms in nanocrystalline solids, allowing aspects of disorder to be studied. Small-angle scattering, a technique that is often overlooked, can probe both ordered and disordered structures of materials at longer length scales than those probed by powder diffraction methods. Addressing both physical principals and recent advances in their applications, “Structure from Diffraction Methods” covers: • Powder Diffraction • X-Ray and Neutron Single-Crystal Diffraction • PDF Analysis of Nanoparticles • Electron Crystallography • Small-Angle Scattering Ideal as a complementary reference work to other volumes in the series (Local Structural Characterisation and Multi Length-Scale Characterisation), or as an examination of the specific characterisation techniques in their own right, “Structure from Diffraction Methods” is a valuable addition to the “Inorganic Materials” Series.